Lesson 18: Literature

Autobiography The story of a person’s life, written by that person The famous book The Diary of Anne Frank is an autobiography.

Autobiography

Biography The story of a person’s life, written by someone else Many biographies are written about celebrities.

Biography

Flashback A scene that is set at a time earlier than the main events of the story In the movie Superman, Clark Kent has many flashbacks that help him recall his past.

Flashback

Folklore The traditional tales and beliefs of a people The Jersey Devil is an example of popular folklore from our area.

Folklore

Genre A type of literature or art Some genres that we will examine in English class are fiction, nonfiction, and poetry.

Genre

Metaphor A figure of speech in which one thing is described as if it were another Her smile was the sun on a cloudy day.

Metaphor

Onomatopoeia The use of words that imitate the sounds that they stand for Buzz, moo, and woof are all examples of onomatopoeia.

Onomatopoeia

Prose Ordinary speech or writing that does not have a regular rhythm The House of Dies Drear is written in prose.

Prose

Proverb A short saying that expresses a truth or gives advice The saying “A penny saved is a penny earned” is an example of a proverb.

Proverb

Simile A figure of speech that uses like or as to compare two things that are not alike The Olympic runners were as fast as cheetahs.

Simile